Mas makainip itung balita na itu! T********na talaga! Sarap tumabsung sa dagat pag ganitu ang mga balitang mababasa mu., parang lalung umiinit ang panahun. Sabayan pa ng sunud sunud na pagkatalu ng Boston Celtics. Ay akkaw, magbasa na laang kayu ng Batangbaler ng mga balita tungkul kay Karl Winston Cacanindin, kahit paanu nakakaalwan ng pakiramdam.
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anu kaya nasa isip ng mga Gabriela? Lalu ng yung lider nila? Php 100,000 lang? $2000 lang iyun ditu. Visa lang pala katapat ay...
First of all, I don't think it's fair to put up that picture labeling her as a bitch. Whatever came after, she was still the victim here. And calling ANYONE that is uncalled for in any case, but here it is totally undeserved.
It is disheartening, but until you have been in that situation, you can't place blame. This happens in victims of violence against women often, unfortunately. There is a very pervasive feeling of helplessness, and I can't even imagine how much worse it had been for 'Nicole' given that her case was very public and against American soldiers that are well out of reach of our laws.
We must remember who was at fault here, and not vilify the victim for what she has decided was best for her. I agree with some of the comments made in the article, this is an indictment of our justice system- she did not fail us, we failed her. This case has been going on for almost three years now, and even with the conviction, there's no end in sight that will merit justice that she deserves. Can you really blame her for taking an opportunity? Again, none of us have been in her situation, so we can't be hasty with our judgments.
Of course, I would rather that she had fought this through, and maybe this will serve as a strong argument for the VFA to finally end. But we have to realize that while we are mere observers here and no matter how much we feel we are involved in this, for her it is truly a personal battle. Not only was she raped, she has had to live the past three years under close scrutiny, not being able to work or even just function as a normal human being, all while fighting the American juggernaut and hoping for a miracle from our inept judicial system. Think about that before you pass judgment.
PS: This is not just about Gabriela and "ultra-nationalists", it is bigger than that. But all the same, at least those people have a conviction, they are passionate about a cause, they have something that moves them. You don't win every battle, but at least you're fighting for something. And JP, while it's only $2000 for you, that money may be a life-changer for her, something that will enable her to have a fresh start and maybe try to heal her wounds, and get away from people who presume to know how SHE should live her life.
oops...tangina,,,ok ngayun ditu ah...yan ang gustu kung usapan...medyu nawala lng ng ilang araw..makappgcomment nga din ditu peru sguro bukas na at babasahin ku muna ang article..peru hinay hinay lng jeanette at bka mahighblood..kailangan lng ng konting oryentasyon para mas malalim na maintindihan at lumabas sa pasista at tradisyunal na pananaw ang iba...
isa pa pla...editor in chief k ba nung highschool tayu?:)
point taken jeannette, but you cannot blame anybody for feeling this animosity towards her.
RAPE is RAPE! it is wrong, evil and inhumane, and the perpetrators must deserve the maximum penalty we have under the law. i dont contest to that. on the other hand, when you recant your stories after three years of fighting doesnt say a lot to your personality.
I am with her that most of the time it is futile to get the justice you think you deserve in our country, and sometimes just moving away, fading into the night or going to another country to try to bulid your life again seems like a better idea...but atleast try to move into a country that you didn't bashed, hated, villified for the past three years! your making yourself sound so stupid and hypocrite! if she had moved to UK, france, italy, japan or even australia..thats gonna be a different story.
i hate people like that! you move to a new place, then bash it for not being what you expect it to be, or saying something that is so mean to that place then moving there? i mean, what the f*ck is that all about?!! after all the things she said to the US, for being evil, unfair to our justice system, etc etc..then moving into the same place she said she hates the most!
i hate it as much as i hate some of our kababayans, that after landing their foot in the US soil, suddenly they have so much bad things to say to the Philippines as if they are not Filipinos!
P.S. This is for Gabriela..because they FAILED her! They just used her for their own propaganda! And JEANNETTE, you and i both know that $2000 would not afford her to start a new leaf, in exchange for recanting her testimonies and making her case...and all other rape cases in the philippines weaker! and making it seems that all our Filipinas would always bow to green card! i think that you cannot put a price on that!
btw, this is my opinion, and i stand by it!
ehem, may kakampi aku.ay basta, opinion ku iyan, magalit na kung sinu man ang magalit, peru bilang isang pinoy, feeling ku pinaasa at nilinlang laang tayu ni nicole.bahala na kayug humusga.
Hmm, ewan ko kung kailangan i-hold natin sya accountable na "pinaasa at nilinlang" nya tayo. Disappointing at nakakagalit talaga na binawi nya ang mga testimonya nya, pero ang tingin ko dyan, kung sa simula pa lang yun lang talaga ang habol nya, hindi na yan umabot ng three years. It takes A LOT to be able to hold your own in her situation. Not to make it personal, but just to illustrate a point: I've always been a supporter of women's rights, but the one time I was just asked to serve as witness on a sexual harrassment case (university-level), it was unnerving. And I was just there as a witness, all it took was a couple of meetings with a lawyer and one afternoon for my court appearance. But it took a lot from me, and my courage almost failed me, I had to keep reminding myself that she (the victim) deserves to have her story told and hopefully get justice. Again, none of us have any idea what it took for Nicole to take on this fight. If she had succumbed and did not make it through, ask yourself whether you could have done better before judging.
And JP, while it certainly is a little hypocritical of her to have moved to the US after all of this, it still doesn't mean that she doesn't have the right to move there after having bashed the US. Moving to a country doesn't mean you support everything about them- that's not even the case for the country you were born in. We're Filipinos and (I'm assuming) we're all proud to be Filipinos, but you can't say everything's perfect about the Philippines. Would you not bash our country for its corrupt government and ineffective judicial system? Same goes for Americans- US-born or immigrants or even the temporary residents. Just because you've expressed disdain for how their government works doesn't mean you despise everything about that country. I don't agree to most of what the US does in other countries, particularly their military in the Philippines, but it doesn't mean I can't get a good education here. She had a cause to say bad things about the US government, but she also has a cause to want to start a new life in the US if she feels like she would have an opportunity for a better life here.
If we feel let down by Nicole, how do you think she feels about us? Did we do anything for her? Did she get any kind of help from us? She owes us nothing. It's true, she should have fought through, but she couldn't, or wouldn't, anymore. After we've passsed blame on her, what now? The VFA is still in effect, the American soldiers are still in the Philippines, we still can't protect our citizens from any wrongdoing they commit. Casting Nicole as the villain in this story only serves to distract us from the big picture. Our judicial system, for the most part, is a joke; our government as a whole is spineless and cannot protect its own people; the US is using other countries to further itself without any regard for non-Americans; and poverty is as pervasive as is lack of education, leaving most Filipinos with limited opportunities and floundering hope. (We have more problems, but I only listed the ones that I think are most relevant here). As big as her case is, Nicole is an individual, whose personal story reflects all of those big picture problems we have as a country. She is a victim, not just of rape by American soldiers, but also by her circumstance- which led her to make this awful choice of turning away from her fight. And now she is once again a victim, being crucified for making that choice for herself.
And JP, I know $2000 doesn't really get you anything here, but there's the rub, right? She probably didn't even know that.
Do I need to comment?
It seems that the main issue turns to be the place of migration...:) parang ok lng tumanggap ng bayad basta wag ka pupunta sa bansang nagbayad..It turned to be less public opprobrium if she had migrated to any country? babaw naman nun?
i think we should start thinking in a more sub-cellular level..many were disappointed after reading the victim's recantation but I put empathy on the victim's situation...maybe she was disappointed too after three years of half-baked decision made by the court..and continuous assertion by the US President to the validity and legality of the mutual defense treaty or the VFA despite of not being ratified by the US senate due to its lopsided provisions..tangina kasing gubyerno yan eh..!! sariling tao di man lang maipagtanggol...kahit sino magaabroad. maybe nicole is simply living the filipino dream..
Sa paanyaya ng isang kaibigan...isa ako sa masugid na sumubaybay sa kaso Nicole...naging kaibigan, naging kaagapay niya habang tumatakbo ang kaso sa Makati RTC at hanggang ngayon...it took me a while to reallly know what I really feel about this turn of events re "Nicole". I have always been conscious of not being tempted into "second guessing" Nicole's actions as people would usually want me to do. Yes, she is a victim... "twice over". First by the men who took advantage of her vulnerability state and now by the system, which not only failed her but also pressured her into giving up the principles and values which made her survive the gruelling process of her quest for justice. If we will read the full text of her affidavit carefully, it is not a"recantation". She only ackowledged her dilemma na kahit noon pa man ay nandyan na- how can she be sure she was raped when she could not remember the crucial details of the events which transpired in the van? In fact, Nicole stood pat in her refusal to lie in court and say she remembers being penetrated by Smith. She had been dealing with this issue even during the trial. Nicole is only one witness in her case. Remember, the case is Pp vs Daniel Smith...There were others. Like so many other victims of violence Nicole had to deal with her own uncertainy and guilt. On top of these personal process which were mostly borne out of her own ignorance, she was subjected to tremendous pressures from her social reality. She was just another human being who could not carry the burden of being a victim all her life. She had to be pragmatic. She had to "go on with her life" the only way she knows how- succumb to pressure. In other words, get the money and run!Sad, sad, sad, Yes it makes me sad to realize that Nicole is only one of many. She may in fact represent many of us- people who value survival when all else seems to be an impossible dream. Pero katulad ng iba pang advocacy...patuloy ang laban. This not about THIS NICOLE, or her family...this is about US...about the OTHER NICOLES hindi lamang sa Pilipinas kundi maging sa ibang bansa na may katulad na kasunduang VFA...
thank you bro...sa mas malalim na pananalita...
To anonymous: Very well said, and thank you for the insight.
obligasyon natin yan sa mamayang Filipino na ipaabot ang katotohanan, gaano man ito kahirap at kasakit sa nakararami...katulad ko, nasasaktan din ako sa naging takbo ng mga pangyayari...may mas sasakit pa ba sa aming dinanas, kami na sumama sa kanya sa bawat hakbang patungo sa pangarap na hustisya, kami na nagtiis ng pagod at gutom sa gitna ng tirik na araw, kami na dumanas ng pangungutya ng ibang tao dahil sa mga negatibong espukalsyon sa katauhan ni Nicole... ngunit dapat natin intindihin na katulad ng isang normal na tao si Nicole ay may mga kahinaan din. tayo na mas nakakaunawa sa bulok na sistemang ating ginagalawan ang dapat tumimbang at humimay sa bawat detalyeng ating napapanood at naririnig dahil hindi lang iisa ang mukha ng hustisya dito sa Pilipinas. marami pang mangyayari, hindi dito natatapos ang labang sinimulan namin noon...mawala man si Nicole simbulo pa rin sya ng mas maraming kababaihang naging biktima at magiging biktima ng baluktot na sistemang ating ginagalawan.
ok ang usapan ah...lalu na pag may beer...:)
Nicole should have stood her ground and not recant her story. Yes she was a victim of a terrible violent act but how funny is it that when she was offered a visa & money to live in the US she took it and RECANTED her story! Rape is worse in all sense but look at her actions recanting her story to get a GREEN CARD & some dollars! If she truely feels victimized then she would have stood her ground and fought it all the way! She was willing to go through the intial trial to prosecute him at first but why after the visa & dollars is offered did she suddenly recant her testimony? NO VISA & MONEY SHOULD HAVE STOPED HER!
i guess you cant really blame some people, who always put the blame on the government whatever happen in the universe. And the issue here is not the place of migration as what Betong points out, this is about using someone, and being used in return.
Where are the progressive groups that's always been with nicole during the whole brouhaha? All the pictures opportunity, all the media mileage? With all their banners and all their patriotic bashing? What are they saying now? Where are all the senators that's always been at her side during media coverage? If this is all about VFA as most of you are pointing out, aren't they are the ones who have the capability to scrap, revised or amend it?
I guess we dont really know what happened, and i am not in the position to judge her. On the contrary, my opinion is Nicole is an opportunist like most of us. She went to the club where most of the GI's hang out...For what? We will never know. But now, she is in the US (Virginia) scheduled to be married to a US guy (not known if he is in the military) that petition her in a fiance visa. Grapevine has it that they met through on-line dating, and the US embassy processed their papers really fast! I guess she really wants to immigrate to the place of milk and honey. It just so happened that she was raped...and it was very unfortunate. And now she wants to starts a new life. So we will let it be.
VFA? Now we know that it is flawed and it needs to be revisited, so let out senators know about it...SPECIALLY THE ONES WHO ARE ALWAYS WITH NICOLE DURING MEDIA OPPORTUNITY!!! Stop freaking complaining of "bulok na sistema" There is no perfect democracy. VFA needs to be ratified by the congress of the two countries in order for it to take effect. contrary to what betong said, bith the RP and US passed it. If you feel it is disadvantageous to us, blame to senators who passed it, then tell your senators now to revised, scrap or amend it!
where is my beer?
If you only have chance to read personally the affidavit of Nicole during the Makati trial and the statement she gave last March 12, you will unerstand and will support the fact that she didn't recant. There is no discrepancy in the statement. Infact, she only strengthen the her first statement. The fact that she doubt evry single events during that horrible night, is already a strong evidence that she's not in her proper disposition to give consent to have "sex" (if you may call it that way). The victim has always been not just Nicole but the Filipino people. The enemy has always been BEYOND L/Cpl. Daniel Smith but the United States government and its military. The accomplice has always been more than the three other US soldiers but the puppet government that we have. The fight has always been more than justice for the crime of rape but justice for a people.
The struggle for justice in the Subic rape case has never been just a single Filipino woman's battle for her dignity. It has been, and shall always be, the battle of a people united to reclaim our national dignity.
The fight will continue. As we always say: Gahasa sa Pinay, Gahasa sa PInas! Nicole is every Filipino who was and will be raped by American soldiers.
I pity those people who don't merely fail to understand reality but REFUSE to understand it. Their circumstances unfortunately do not allow them to see the truth...
your beer will be served once bistro baler reopens again, with free lomi akkaw, lots of acoustic music, an autographed affidavit of nicole and a wedding invitation.
The action of 1 US soldier is not the US Go't fault! So if a Filipino man rapes a woman in the states should the American citizen's bash the Filipino Gov't for what he has done. Stop going on and on about the US Gov't as if it's there fault that Nicole was raped by a soldier. So typical! The filipino citizens blame GMA for everything that isnt going right in the Philippines. BLAME BLAME BLAME! Yes, Daniel should be placed in the philippine prison but stop judging the US as a whole cause remember FILIPINO's are not crime free. Many filipino men rape women in and out of the Philippines! Also why is everyone here only talking about Nicole's case when there are so many other rape cases no one talks about!!!!!!
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